Hi. i was cleaning my mini, useing rem oil, like i done for ever, And were the ser-183xxx,And the cover plate also, What would turn it dull. Or are they like that,and i never looked at it so close. The rest of the gun looks blue.Thanks for looking.P.S. Iam 72 and have bad eyes but not that bad.

Well, the receiver is cast steel and the cover is stamped. The were suface finished by means of different processes and blued at different times, so it is no wonder they don't look the same.

Then its me, I put it away many years ago, And took it out to clean it, Going to give this one to my grandson, It will be his first mini. So thats the way it should look then. Right. Thanks for your help. toni.

The blue on the older Mini's and most all of Rugers older rifles seems to me to be of a better quality then what they are doing today. Anyways, on most all my blued guns I have got away from using oil on the exterior and have been using classic paste car wax.

About the only time my guns get a wipe down with breakfree or an oily rag is in the field if they are getting wet or need a wipe off.
I have been using wax for years and never had any rust on guns in use or stored.

The blue on the older Mini's and most all of Rugers older rifles seems to me to be of a better quality then what they are doing today. Anyways, on most all my blued guns I have got away from using oil on the exterior and have been using classic paste car wax.

About the only time my guns get a wipe down with breakfree or an oily rag is in the field if they are getting wet or need a wipe off.
I have been using wax for years and never had any rust on guns in use or stored.

Hi. I think thats what i will be doing with my other mini,s- the other ones are ss and all the older ones.Iam talking about the 183xxx.